Anime Limited Presents Screen Anime, An Online Film Festival for UK & Ireland Viewers

NoSurprises said:
The starting line up isn't that exciting as it's not really filling the gap between theatrical and home release, I could quite happily pop any of those films into my BD player now. I would love a service that does fill the gap between cinema and retail though, and judging by Andrew's comment above it seems like this is what they're going for.
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I think it's a fair point that the gap is a little wider from theatrical to start here than it will always be - it's still up before home video and there is no other legal way to watch it in the UK just now so does give a way to let fans join in the discourse legally online due to the AU screening on AnimeLab or the recent-ish watch party that was in the USA.

As for the rest, I regularly will screen things that are out on home video during the festival (a repeat offender from me is Redline) so this rather fits in line with that ethos. It's a balancing act as there's a wider audience out there for anime film too who may not have ever heard of Patema Inverted before for example too and we want to provide a line-up that allows people to discover gems regardless of age. This does mean some months will be more appealing to the avid collector of home video than others though I confess on content alone!

We'll be working some cool extras in other the coming months that may address that though so stay tuned regardless - always open to ideas too if folks have 'em :)! Leaping into your questions below now too...

NoSurprises said:
Couple of questions that I don't really need answers to sell me on the idea, but are rattling around my head anyway:

1. Would releases on here likely beat out JP retail? I just kinda assumed when you said homevideo that you meant UK based.
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Realistically this is a tall order for now (although who knows for the future). However I do believe in the point that day & date is absolutely reasonable and possible mostly. We'll be working to this as our ideal scenario, it doesn't guarantee it will be the case 100% of the time as we start up but that's what I am gunning for longer term.

NoSurprises said:
2. As @thedoctor2016 mentioned, what sort of space does this occupy in terms of licencing? Is it only going to be only AL licenced titles on the service, or can you get away with more like SLA since they're only available on the service for a short time?
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It's Anime Limited operated so obviously we have a catalogue of films to launch the service and prove the concept. Ultimately we can license for the platform from anyone so long as everyone can agree reasonable terms though, it doesn't have to be our content :).

In short - we're working hard to prove the festival makes sense and would love to work with content from other players as we develop a great festival to champion directors and studios alike. Unrelated to Made in Abyss, I have a small treat on that frontier in my back pocket so I'll keep folks updated as we go...

NoSurprises said:
3. Would this make shorts more easily accessible in some way? I love me some short films, but they never really make it to most streaming services for whatever reason, and they're probably not that viable for a physical release either considering their length. Stuff like the original Cencoroll, Hotarubi no mori e or even the anime expo shorts don't quite fit anywhere in the current landscape, wondering if they'd find at least a temporary home here?
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I ADORE short film content - as you can tell from some of our line-up at Anime Limited so my ideal is yes - we want to showcase as much short film as we can and I'm definitely looking into some interesting curation there. We'd love to give them a temporary home here - then release as many shorts as we can in other formats down the line...

NoSurprises said:
Does sound an interesting enough experiment for me to at least sign up for the first year though, to see how it goes. Fingers crossed the player/UI isn't awful!
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Hope you like what you see! As you know from my work usually - we're open to feedback and ideas too. We may not be able to make everything happen but this version of Screen Anime is definitely one we expect to grow over the next year onwards so do let us know suggestions or niggles when we're live!

Very best,

Andrew
 
If the UK could get the third Heavens Feel movie through this then I would be definitely sold. (seeing as we seem to be the only country which never got theatrical releases for the first two and had to wait months for the aniplex blu ray)
 
We got festival showings of the first one. And it’s currently on hold in Japan so it’s not a top priory film right now I imagine
 
anime_andrew said:
I ADORE short film content - as you can tell from some of our line-up at Anime Limited so my ideal is yes - we want to showcase as much short film as we can and I'm definitely looking into some interesting curation there.
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I'm liking what I'm reading about this concept. 🙂
I'm also very excited about the possibility of including some short films in the line-up. I've got to back up @NoSurprises with the mention of Japan Animator Expo here. I recall that a selection of those shorts was shown at Edinburgh Filmhouse a few years back, but I was unable to go to that screening due to the combined factors of not having the time off work and not having the budget because of already going to the Glasgow leg of the festival the previous week. Screen Anime could potentially be a great solution to those problems.

I'll say one thing for definite, though: if Children of the Sea were to find itself added to the service at any point, I would absolutely subscribe for that month because it's something I'd like to see a second time. Or even another few times — and for less than the price of a single cinema ticket. And then that's before you even include the other three films and the series. And the extras.

I'm finding more and more to like about this idea as I type. 🙂
 
As for short films I'd love to see Shishigari available. I know it's had festival screenings in Canada and France iirc and Studio Durian's currently making plans for a feature length release so it'd be interesting to see the initial version as solo animated by Kiyotaka Oshiyama. Also very interested in Cencoroll.
 
It's interesting. I might get a month and binge watch the films but with a limited library (currently) I'm not sure about it's longetivity
 
Vincentdante said:
It's interesting. I might get a month and binge watch the films but with a limited library (currently) I'm not sure about it's longetivity
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I mean the movies available change every month as far as I'm aware, so as long as that keeps up I see no issues with longevity. I guess the question is how long will there be new films to stick on the service available to them before they run out.
 
Buzzkillington said:
I mean the movies available change every month as far as I'm aware, so as long as that keeps up I see no issues with longevity. I guess the question is how long will there be new films to stick on the service available to them before they run out.
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Ok so it's more like home cinema rather than on demand
 
I think I'll give a try for a couple of months, to see if it is worth keeping. I don't own any of the movies in their initial lineup and so it does seem pretty cost effective compared to buying any of them.
 
I might join for the first month just to check out Promare (the CE looks great content wise, but I'm not sure if I'll like the film - hoping Violet Evergarden will have a CE like that (also eagerly awaiting full content details for Tamako Market and Cardcaptor Sakura)) (I own the other 3 films).

I assume I will have to rejoin each month (no recurring membership - the yearly Festival Pass would cover that, but I assume you would still have to rejoin each year). Joining for the year would depend on what the full range of benefits turns out to be, and whether I find there are films I want to see every month. Will the lineups for each month be announced in advance? How far in advance would they be announced?

I have missed most anime films in the cinema because of limited time screenings not being convenient for me even when they come to my local cinema, so having another, cheaper chance to watch them before they are released on home video is great. I'll be particularly interested in anything that is not currently available legally in the UK, though I might also checkout older films that I don't already own. Since this service will still be time limited, I may end up buying some of the films I really like on home video (assuming they have, or will be getting, a home video release).

It will be great if this can become an outlet for all anime films, not just Anime Limited licenced ones.
 
anime_andrew said:
It's a balancing act as there's a wider audience out there for anime film too who may not have ever heard of Patema Inverted before for example too and we want to provide a line-up that allows people to discover gems regardless of age.
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Just adding onto this: I only watched Patema Inverted for the first time this month, and anyone who slept on it as long as I did should definitely check it out.
Then watch it again upside down (which I plan to do. I'm serious).
 
Joshawott said:
Then watch it again upside down (which I plan to do. I'm serious).
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There's actually a bonus feature on the BD that lets you see select scenes the other way up. That's what the "alternate angles" bonus feature for the film on Screen Anime will be.

Patema Inverted is indeed astounding, though. It alone is more than worth the monthly subscription cost several times over.
 
Is it bad that I got the AL movie bundle in the christmas sale and because I've been at my folks during the entire lockdown instead of at my flat by myself I can't remember what the hell it included?

For all I know I already have Patema Inverted lol.
 
Neil.T said:
There's actually a bonus feature on the BD that lets you see select scenes the other way up. That's what the "alternate angles" bonus feature for the film on Screen Anime will be.

Patema Inverted is indeed astounding, though. It alone is more than worth the monthly subscription cost several times over.
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"select scenes" isn't the whole film though. In for a penny, in for a pound :p
 
I'm interested in this service. The first month not so much since I own all of the films and saw all but one of them in the cinema already, but they're all smashing choices and that bodes well for future selections. I struggled to get to an eligible cinema for screenings in a pre-coronavirus world and this will really help if newer films enter the lineup along with the classics.

I like that AL is promoting Promare so well. It deserves it, and for those who aren't sure about a physical copy with the great soundtrack this is a very wallet-friendly way to take a look and support the industry too. It's a fraction of the price of a single cinema ticket near the capital and you get three other top tier films in the same bundle.

(I hope the Android app supports Android TVs because hardly anything does!)

R
 
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